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The Contenders: Caroline Steffen is Coming for the Crown

Is this the Swiss athlete's chance to shine after two runner-up finishes in Kona?

by Kevin Mackinnon

Two years ago Caroline Steffen's coach, Brett Sutton, wondered if she had gone so hard here that she would never be able to compete at the same level again. She responded to that challenge with the second-fastest IRONMAN in history at the IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship Melbourne the following April. Later that year she was the last person to be passed by Chrissie Wellington in a triathlon, finally giving up the lead as the four-time champ claimed another Kona title before she retired.

Coming in to last year's race Steffen was considered the woman to beat after that stellar performance in Melbourne, which she followed up with an equally as impressive win in Frankfurt claiming the European title. Just as she did the year before, Steffen put herself in the lead during the marathon. Unlike the year before, though, she held that lead until the closing miles of the race. When Leanda Cave finally caught her and made the pass, Steffen made a gallant attempt to hold on—only to come across the line a minute behind. If the runner-up finish in 2011 was physically destructive, 2012 was a mental let down.

"It was really hard to let go after last year," Steffen says. "It was like being given a chocolate bar as a kid and then, at the last second, it was taken away."

This all makes the 35-year-old even more determined to hang on to that chocolate bar this year. After struggling to stay motivated through the first half of 2013, things started to click in June. She blasted through a full-distance race in Germany in July and has been focusing on this race ever since.

Steffen arrives in Kona with the kind of confidence that can only come from being at the front of this race so many times. A former national team swimmer, Steffen is always one of the swim leaders. She also competed as a professional cyclist before turning to triathlon—which is why she's one of the most fearsome cyclists in the sport. Her running has improved dramatically over the years, to the point where she can run a sub-three-hour marathon after a devastating bike split.

"I don't have to change much (too win)," she says. She's right. Two years ago she was up against possibly the greatest athlete our sport has ever seen. A year later she got beaten by a woman who had the race of her life.

Maybe this year it will be Steffen's turn to enjoy that kind of victory.